Students get firsthand look at how alcohol, marijuana, texting while driving can destroy lives

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TRUMBULL COUNTY, Ohio -–High school students on Wednesday got an up-close look at how alcohol, marijuana, and texting while driving can destroy lives.

"It's not something that people just make up, that it's hard to drive when you're impaired. It's something that happens and it's real and that gives you a first look at it," said Nicholas Waldron, 16, a sophomore at Lakeview High School in Cortland.

The Arrive Alive Tour is an interactive way to show teens the dangers and consequences of impaired driving. Here is how it works: Students put on the so-called drunk goggles, and they sit in the driver’s seat of the virtual reality vehicle.

The headset then projects a high-tech simulation of the road, with what drivers may experience under the influence, like slow reaction times and drifting in and out of lanes.

Another scenario? Drunk driving.

Junior Isabella Kakiou said, "I didn't think it was actually gonna affect me but I myself felt like I was gonna fall in the car, myself."

Simulator operator with Arrive Alive Mallory McKenzie said, "We know not to drink that beer but we're not to the point where everyone knows to keep that phone away while they're driving."

Arrive Alive travels all over the country to educate students about the dangers of impaired driving, teaming up with school districts and local law enforcers who deal with real-life scenarios every day.

School resource officer Brandon Rice said, "Just two weeks ago we had a one-car crash at one o'clock in the afternoon where the guy tested a .308."

"According to MADD, one-third of teenagers in this country believe they actually drive better under the influence of marijuana, but we learned today, that is not the case."

McKenzie said, "Even if you’re in a state where it's medical or recreational it's too dangerous to be driving under those circumstances."